Touch the Sky: a Mystery Dungeon Retelling
by Roydigs22
Summary: The story of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, with a twist. What happened? The hero didn't come from nowhere.
1. Chapter 1

"... So that's it then. All of them are gone except you. We have to finish this, for them. If you can just hang on for one attack, we'll win."

My longtime partner gives me a nod as I take a deep breath.

"Earthquake, now!"

The champion merely shakes her head.

"I don't think so, kid! Garchomp, Flamethrower!"

My partner Torterra raises his foot, and the ground begins to tremble as a stream of fire pours from the Garchomp's mouth.

 _It's a Critical Hit!_

My partner, a Torterra, stands and looks at me for just a moment before falling, defeated.

"No, not now! We were so close!"

I fall to my knees as the champion walks over. She offers me a hand and says "Come on kid. I'll heal my team up and fly you back to your house."

I take stand up, and the champion walks me back down to the pokemon center. And I get looks. I get looks from the other trainers. They all know how brutal her team is. Then, the looks change. First confusion, then recognition. They know exactly why I'm not going to the nurse. They know that those 6 pokemon that I brought with me are gone. They watched the match. They saw it all.

The fly back to Twinleaf feels much longer than it is. The champion, thank goodness, isn't very talkative on the way. The whole time, I'm thinking about what I could have done. A way to save at least one of them.

We land in front of my house, and I'm greeted by my mom. Her expression is cheery at first, but falls fast as she watches me trudge to my room. She calls after me, but I ignore her as I throw myself onto my bed. It's all my fault. All I can do is make penance for my failure.

 _Johanna's POV, a few hours later._

"Well, dinner's ready. I should probably call him down. ROY! DINNER!"

… _No response._

"Roy?"

… _Still no response._

"Maybe he's asleep. I'll just leave it on his desk."

 _The stairs squeak under her feet._

"I need to fix those. Roy? I brought-"

 _There's a gasp, then a shatter._


	2. Chapter 2

"Urgh… My neck."

I get up, and look around. The entire surrounding area is… strange, to say the least. The colors are constantly shifting through the visible spectrum, with a number of soft white bands at eye level. The ground below me matches the… walls, maybe? Of the area. There doesn't appear to be a sky either, for that matter. The aforementioned floor feels like tile, smooth and cold. Apparently, my shoes are missing, which is why I can feel the ground in the first place. In regards to that, most of my gear is gone as well. All I have is a light tee shirt and a pair of gym shorts. Needless to say, I'm confused.

"So… Where am I?"

…

…

…

Silence.

"Well, fantastic. Most of my stuff is gone, I'm in some place that looks like a rainbow snow globe or something, I have no clue how to get out, and nobody to help me out."

I look around for another moment, then pick a direction and start walking. After what seems like approximately 200 feet, I bump into a glassy, invisible plane. I feel around for an edge or a fault of some sort, but there doesn't seem to be one. The pane actually feels similar to that of a Light Screen or a Reflect. I pause, thinking for a moment. That's when I hear it.

"Hello. You need not be alarmed."

I whirl around, looking for the source of the voice. To my disappointment, I find nothing.

"Do not waste your time searching for me. We have more important matters to discuss."

That statement confuses me.

"More important matters? What exactly is going on, anyways?"

The voice, thankfully, is more than happy to indulge me.

"What is happening, young one, is that you are about to enter a whole world, foreign to you. A world inhabited solely by pokémon."

This part confuses me.

"Just Pokémon? But I'm a human. I would stick out like a sore thumb."

The voice chuckles a little.

"I know. We need to determine what form to send you in. Now let me see… Oh! Apparently, you've already been assigned a particular species to go as."

My reply is obvious. "What form is it?"

The answer doesn't help.

"You'll see when you arrive, won't you?"

This annoys me a bit, admittedly.

"So… can I go?"

The strange voice replies, "Of course, young one. We were just about done anyways."

There is one thing I have to ask out of curiosity.

"Will I see you again?"

One last reply from the voice.

"Assuming all goes well, yes."

After the voice fades, there's a lurching feeling in my stomach, followed by a blackout. Then, nothing


	3. Chapter 3

_?'s POV_

There's a nasty storm tonight. I live next to the sea, so I have a perfect idea of just what that entails. Tearing winds, bright lightning, cracks of thunder, and of course an absolute downpour of rain. It's a miracle my entire dwelling isn't ripped apart and washed away. I hope, for their sake, nobody gets caught in it. As nasty as it is on land, the sea must be several times worse…

 _?_

 _ **CRASH!**_

"Whoa! That was close!"

"Are you alright?"

"Fine! We need to keep moving!"

"Right! Let's go, partner!"

 _ **CRASH!**_

"Watch out!"

"I know!"

"We're almost there!"

"Alright! I think I can see it up ahead!"

"Yeah! That's the place!"

 _ **CRASH!**_

"Just hold on! We're almost there!"

"I'm trying!"

"It's alright! We've made it!"

"Good! Now we can-"

 _ **CRASH!**_

"Watch out!"

"No! We were so close! Hang on!"

"I'm trying… I don't know how much longer I can hold!"

 _ **CRASH!**_

"Waaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

…

…

…

…

 _The next morning, ?'s POV_

"...Urgh… my head…"

"It's throbbing…"

No joke. It feels like someone socked me square in the face. My entire body hurts as well, but this migraine is the most prevalent of all of it.

"I can't… hold on…"

Before I know it, I'm out again.

 _?'s POV, several hours later_

"Alright. Today's the day. I'm gonna do it today. My goal… I will achieve it!"

I look to the strange stone laced around my neck.

"My personal treasure will give me all the bravery and confidence I need!"

…

"Well… maybe I should wait until later. When there are few others around. Just in case."


	4. Chapter 4

_Evening, ?'s POV._

The walk here was easy. There weren't many others on the way, so it was just a matter of one paw in front of the other. Unfortunately, my legs aren't very long, so my pace was a little slow. And now, here I am. I'm so close to attaining my big dream. Now… I seem to have lost a bit of my nerve. A massive building looms over me. The building itself is in the shape of a Wigglytuff's head. Under most circumstances, this would be amusing, but there are torches off to the side that give it an ominous feeling. The slow pace makes things worse, as it gives me more time to think about all the things that could go wrong.

"I need to do this… before I lose all my nerve. I can do this. I can do this. Just one paw… in front… of the other."

I take a deep breath, for a bit of last minute reassurance, before stepping forward onto a wooden grate. As soon as I do…

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

This, combined with the strange feeling, scares me.

"Eep!"

I jump back off the grate.

"That… was… something."

…

"Ah… who am I kidding? I'm not ready for this. Not by a long shot."

I grasp the stone pendant resting below my neck.

"I thought my little treasure would help me, but…"

At this moment, a thought bubbles up to the front of my mind.

" _If I can't overcome something like this… how am I ever supposed to catch up to my sister?"_

… For some reason, this makes me a touch angry.

"She's never had any sort of problem with this. Why do I…?"

I punch the air in frustration.

"Well… no use moping about it, but I think I need to clear my head."

I sigh, before turning and heading towards the beach.


	5. Chapter 5

Beach, ?'s POV

With my mind still reeling and my temper still high from my failed endeavor, I walk down onto the sands. As soon as my feet make contact, my frustration starts to melt away. I play with the sand for a few moments, tossing it on my feet and letting it sift between my toes. Then, I turn my attention to the sky. The sunset looks magical from anywhere, but it's what accompanies it that really blows the view out of the water. There are Krabby, approximately ten of them, on the rocks above the water. All of them are blowing bubbles, which turns the beach from magical into a spectacle. The lights from the sunset refract in the bubbles, sending waves of red, golden, and purple light everywhere. There are also a few puffy pink clouds out, making it entirely possible for one to mistake this for a literal heaven.

"It's nice to forget all my troubles… if only for a few moments. All my cares can just… melt away. As much as I'd like to stay here… I have things to do."

I look around, hoping to see more of the gorgeous sight, when something catches my eye…

"That… doesn't look normal."

I walk over to the strange thing, hoping for a closer look. What I find shocks me.

"Wha? Someone passed out on the sand!"

I run over, and start shaking them.

"Hey. Hey! Can you hear me?"


	6. Chapter 6

_Evening, ?'s POV_

As I regain consciousness, the first thing I hear is a voice.

"Hey. Hey! Can you hear me?"

"Nnnhhh…"

Someone, presumably the source of the voice, is shaking me.

"Hey! Wake up!"

The shaking continues. Now that I'm a bit more aware of my surroundings, I notice that the voice sounds… a bit feminine, judging from the higher pitch.

"Hnnn…"

Though it takes a significant amount of effort, I manage to pull myself into a sitting position. Thankfully, the shaking stops.

"Oh goodness, you're alright. That was quite a scare you gave me."

I finally open my eyes, and my first sight… is a rabbit. "Huh? Are you… a Pokémon?"

She giggles. "Of course I'm a pokémon. What else would I be?"

This strikes me as odd… "Wait, wait, wait. Pokémon can't talk!"

The rabbit looks at me, perplexed. "I mean, you're doing it right now."

That, of course, only adds to my confusion. "But I'm a human. That's not…"

I catch a glimpse of the water behind me.

"Oh… oh no."

In the water, staring back at me, is a bipedal blue canine.

The bunny clears her throat.

"Wait… this isn't some kind of prank? You really think you were a human?"

There's a pause.

"Well… you seem honest. By the way, who are you? My name is-"


	7. Chapter 7

"Whoa!"

The Buneary is shoved at me. I catch her, and I get a good look at who did it. It's a Zubat and a Koffing.

"Heh-heh-heh. Whoops, sorry!"

The Buneary whirls around angrily, before shouting, "What in the world was that for?!"

The Zubat laughs.

"Couldn't you tell? We wanted to mess with you!"

The Koffing turns himself to something on the sand that wasn't there before. When the Buneary follows his gaze, she gasps before reaching near her neck. She lunges for the strange object, but the Zubat beats her to it. She face plants into the sand.

She gets up and starts dusting herself off. She looks furious.

"Give that back!"

The Koffing laughs, and he looks at the Zubat.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Looks like the little bunny has some fight! Tell me, little bunny. Why don't you make us?"

The look of anger doesn't fade, but she starts quivering. She's scared.

The poisonous pair look at each other, and then laugh.

"Heh-heh-heh! Aw… is the little bunny a scaredy cat? Let's go."

The duo walk into a nearby cave.


	8. Chapter 8

_Beach, Riolu's POV_

The two of us watch as the thieves bolt into the nearby cave. The Buneary, who's still shivering, sits down on the sand. She looks despondent, and tears are starting to form in her eyes. I don't know who she is, but something about the tears get to me. I feel like I need to help out, so I walk over to her. The best place to start, obviously, is to figure out the source of the problem.

"Hey… what's wrong?"

She looks at me, sniffling a bit.

"That was my personal treasure. It means everything to me."

This causes a bit of confusion.

"So… why aren't you going after them?"

She sniffles again.

"Are you kidding? I'm a Buneary! I can't fight… I'd just get thrashed."

A thought pops into my head.

"Well… what if I came with you? That would even the odds a bit. Plus, Riolu are built to fight. While we would be at a major disadvantage individually, we'd be much stronger fighting as a team."

She blinks.

"You, uh… you really think so?"

I nod. Clearly, she needs a good bit of courage.

"Yeah! So what if you don't have raw attack power? Pure damage doesn't win fights. Instead of looking at what you can't do, focus on what you can."

She pauses for a moment, her face pensive, then looks at me.

"You really think I can fight?"

I grin.

"Of course! You just have to look beyond raw power. What can you do?"

She thinks for a moment.

"Well… I'm fast."

There we go. Now she's thinking.

"Perfect. Use that. Take a few quick swings, then back off before your foe can retaliate."

She nods, with a look of determination in her eyes.

"Alright. Let's do this! I'm gonna get my treasure back! You wanna join?"

I just smile and nod.

The Buneary smiles, and we descend into the cave, in hot pursuit of the Zubat and Koffing.


	9. Chapter 9

_Beach Cave, Riolu's POV_

As soon as we enter the cave, the scenery shifts. Whereas the outside of the cave had a rusty brown color, the floor seems to be a coral pink. The walls look like something akin to a dark cobalt blue, and the ceiling is roughly the same, from what I can see. The two of us are in a large room, with a single exit off to the side. I look at the Lagomorph adjacent to me, who's still revved for a fight.

She looks at me and goes, "Well? What are we waiting for?"

I chuckle.

"As good as the enthusiasm is, I'm not too sure how everything works. You may have to explain some of this to me."

"Right. My mistake. Come on, you'll probably learn better in action."

She grabs my hand and drags me to the exit. It leads to a narrow hallway, only wide enough for 1 at a time.

"Should I lead?"

"If you want to."

So. I'm on point. Alright. The walk down the corridor is a quiet one, as the Buneary's attention seems to be elsewhere. The entire floor continues this way. We go through 2 more rooms and 2 more corridors. At the end of the last corridor, we enter a small room. In said room is a small hole in the floor, containing what looks like a natural set of stairs. I look at the Buneary, confused. She gestures to the set of stairs, so…

"Down we go?"

"Yeah. If I had to guess, I'd say that the crooks are near the third floor."

I nod. We walk down the stairs, and… Arrive in another room. This one looks the same, but there's something in the middle of the room. There's also a second exit. First things first, I check out the item. It looks like a seed. Not quite sure, I pick it up and bring it over to my ally.

She looks at it. Then she chuckles.

"Hold onto that. It'll be pretty helpful next time we have to fight something."

We then turn our attention to the next issue. After some deliberation, we decide to go through the exit on the short wall. That passage leads to a smaller room, and this one isn't empty. A Kabuto is snacking on… something blue. When it catches a glimpse of us, it chitters angrily before advancing at us. At this moment, the Buneary pipes up.

"I know you said you were a human, but please, please, please tell me you know how Pokémon fight."

"I have… some idea. Hold on."

I rack my brain trying to remember what a Riolu would use at this level of power. An idea clicks into my head. I get into a good position to accelerate rapidly. I tense up, and then kick off. As I do, time seems to slow down. I feel a surge of power in my feet as I lunge, strike the Kabuto, and retreat back to my former position.

"That was Quick Attack. Nice, but…"

I nod. "Not very effective on a rock type. Hey, it's still damage. That, and unless I'm mistaken, Riolu don't have access to any fighting type moves at the level of power I'm at."

"Well… this could be a problem. I know exactly two moves that aren't normal type, and they might be less helpful than the normal type moves."

The Kabuto attempts to claw at me, but I dodge out of the way before the Buneary lunges at it with a Quick Attack. The thing seems to have had enough, and it scuttles off. We celebrate for a moment, before investigating what the Kabuto was eating. On closer inspection… "It's an Oran berry."

The Buneary laughs. "Well, if that wasn't anticlimactic. Hey, there's a second one here. It's completely untouched."

I come over for a closer look, only to feel a sharp pain in my back. I whirl around to find a Corsola, staring at me. I don't even bother going for a Quick Attack, and start throwing punches. The fight is a bit longer then I would like, but I emerge triumphant anyways. The Buneary passes me the Oran berry, which I scarf down gratefully.

"Do you think those two are having as much trouble as we are?"

She ponders for a moment.

"Probably more. By my estimate, they're probably approaching the fourth floor. We should hurry."

Thankfully, the stairs are in that same room.

The third floor is our fastest one yet. We encounter three Shellos, but can take them out fast thanks to their lack of a rock typing. The fourth floor is basically empty, save for another one of those odd seeds. As we enter the room with the stairs, we see something purple going down them. The Buneary seems to get nervous again.

"It's time, isn't it?"

I nod. "Remember: play to your strengths."

She looks at me, takes a deep breath, and we descend the stairs…


	10. Chapter 10

_Beach Cave Pit, no particular POV_

The Zubat and Koffing duo end up hovering out to a small peninsula. It's a small bit of sand jutting out, with waves gently lapping at the shore. There are a few rusty brown rocks strewn about. The poisonous pair look around.

"Heh heh. Looks like we lost them, Koff."

"Whoa-ho-ho! I'd say so. Figures the little bunny wouldn't have the spine to come and get it. We might have to be careful, though."

"What makes you say that?"

"Call it a hunch. You know what Riolu are like."

"Oh. Right. What was that Riolu doing on the beach anyways?"

"Why would I know?"

 _Beach Cave Pit, Riolu's POV_

As the Buneary and I descend the staircase, we can hear the sound of a conversation. It's indeed the Zubat and Koffing.

"Maybe he's a loser. Loner. Whatever."

"Eh. You'd think an outcast would look filthier."

The Buneary looks at me. The look on her face is one that says we'll discuss it later. I shrug, a bit perplexed. We go and hide behind a rock, and continue observing the thieves.

"Remind me how we even got caught up in this mess?"

"We swiped something off the coward, remember?"

"Oh, yeah! That little treasure of hers. Wonder how much we could sell it for."

I look over at the Buneary again. She looks about fit to explode with rage, but keeps her head cool. She looks at me before stepping out from behind the rock.

"Hey!"

The Koffing and Zubat turn to look at her.

"Heh heh heh… looks like the little Buneary had the guts to face us after all. And I'm assuming by the way you shouted, your little knight in shining armor came with you."

I step out behind the rock, confirming the Zubat's suspicions.

"Whoa-ho! You really care about this little trinket, don't you?"

The Zubat looks at his partner.

"Heh. Sounds like all the more reason not to give it back."

The Buneary starts quivering, but keeps it together.

"G… Give it back. I'm warning you…"

The Zubat laughs.

"Heh-he-he! Heh! Heh! Oh… my sides… that's a good one. You're warning me? You? That's… that's rich!"

He moves right up in the Buneary's face.

"What do you think you're gonna do, bunny?"

The Buneary doesn't move. Her feet are still shaking.

"Heh! All that bravado is gone! I'm not even sure you had any to begin with, but if you did…"

The shaking continues.

"Now you listen, and you listen good, little bunny. You got nothing to warn me about. Nothing you can do to me."

The Buneary stops shaking completely. Whether that's good or bad is beyond me.

"Do you know why you can't do anything to me?"

The Buneary rolls up her ears.

"It's because you're nothing more than a cowardly. Scared. Helpless. Bu-"

The Zubat is cut off by a loud _THWACK._ The Buneary had extended her ears into him at full force.

After Zubat gets up, Koffing says something.

"Whoa! The little bunny has some fight in her! Well… Let's see how far that fight takes you…"


	11. Chapter 11

_Beach cave pit, Riolu's POV._

There's a tense standoff as all of us size each other up, planning and thinking. Type wise, I'd be best going up against the Koffing. Flying moves will put a nicely sized dent in my health, so fighting the Zubat is a bit of a no go. Unfortunately, that's pretty common knowledge. So the Zubat will attempt to take me on. He would have to go past the Buneary to do so, which would leave him open for an attack.

I could back up to take advantage of that, but that runs the risk of leaving her in a 2 against 1. The Buneary won't have much in the way of moves to help, either. Not at this level.

 _Buneary's POV_

I glance over at the Riolu, who seems to be pondering. Going over strategies in his head, no doubt. Problem is, the time for strategy wraps up as the Zubat and Koffing make an X-maneuver, switching who they were facing. Because of how this is executed, neither of us can take advantage of the switch. The Koffing lunges at me a few times, but I dodge each of the strikes with ease. He lunges once, I back up. He lunges again, and I evade. This process repeats, until I finally catch wind of their strategy.

 _Riolu's POV_

I glance over at the Buneary and Koffing. As the Buneary keeps evading, I observe that she's backing up. Then it clicks.

"Buneary! They're trying to split us up!"

"I know! Hang on and I'll see what I can do!"

"Right!"

I turn my attention back to the Zubat. He's been bombarding me with Wing Attacks, and it's taking its toll. The thief made one mistake, however. He's striking with a pattern. I wait for him to come in… and as soon as he comes close, I grab and throw him to the dirt. I managed to land a hit on him, but how long did it take? That's when I remember something the Buneary said.

 _Buneary's POV_

I want to help the Riolu out, but I'm locked in a stalemate with the Koffing. He can't land a hit on me, but I just can't seem to shake him. The back and forth continues for a while, and I'm getting further and further away from the Riolu as it does. Eventually, the Koffing slips up, and I vault over him. I close in on the Riolu and Zubat, when the Riolu decides to shout something.

"Hey! Remember those moves that you mentioned? The not normal-type ones?"

I nod and reply "Not sure why you brought that up, but yes! I remember!"

He grins. Looks overconfident, perhaps attempting to bluff the two.

"Well, this guy's a flying type!"

It takes a moment to process what he's getting at.

"Oh! Got it!"

He nods.

"So…"

He leaps back a bit.

"What do you say we put him on ice?"

I give him a blank stare for the pun, before we switch foes.

 _Riolu's POV_

I backflip over the Buneary to intercept the incoming Koffing, who's recovered from his face plant into the sand. Our fight is pretty simple and anticlimactic, actually, as it's a simple contest of smacking each other around and trying not to fall over. The jerk does manage to poison me with poison gas as I go in for an attack, unfortunately. That could be a problem, as it slowly saps my strength.I feel something warm in my paw, and remember that seed we picked up earlier. I decide to do something really gutsy, because what do I have to lose. I back away from the Koffing a bit, before chucking the seed at him. It hits him, and… explodes. My ears hurt a bit, courtesy of the boom. The sound also diverts the attention of the Buneary and the Zubat. The Zubat looks at me. Then the Koffing. Then the Buneary.

"Grr… take it, then! I know when I'm beat."

 _Buneary's POV_

The Zubat throws my treasure back at me.

"Just don't think this means anything. Your victory was a fluke and you know it!"

He goes over to his Koffing friend, shaking him awake before booking it. The Koffing gets up, looks at us, then at Zubat, then back at us. He puts 2 and 2 together before fleeing as fast as he can hover.

I turn my attention to the Riolu as he plops down on the sand, breathing heavily. I have several questions, so I might as well start now. First one out of the way before I forget. So I ask how he figured I knew Ice Punch.

He answers in a very matter of fact manner. "You mentioned knowing two normal type moves. You also mentioned them not being helpful in a battle against a rock and water type. I could rule out Thunderpunch right there, but deducing that it was ice punch is a whole other story. Most of the non-normal moves that Buneary can know are fighting type, or not actually attack moves. The elemental punches are the most versatile, but even they are not perfect."

I give him a blank stare. Most of that went over my head completely.

"Basically, I took the moves that you could know, took type effectiveness into account, and went off that."

"Well, that clears things up. I have a few more questions for you, though. So don't think you're off the hook quite yet."

He laughs. "Alright, but let's get out of here first."

I nod, and we head out of the dungeon.


	12. Chapter 12

So, after some consideration and rereading, I have decided to revamp and reupload the story with better writing and formatting. This story will remain up for anyone who still wants to see it.


	13. Chapter 13

The first chapter of the Revamped story is now up! Check my profile to see it, and thank you sincerely for reading.


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